Emeralds for Snakes
by shinykamon
Summary: Journey into Hogwarts with Harry Potter and his friends through seven eventful years of adventure, love, betrayal, resurrections, and murder. Powerful Harry, Semi-Manipulative Dumbledore, Character Bashing, Eventual HP/DG, with other minor pairings TBD, rated M for graphic language, adult situations, language, and violence.
1. Prologue

**Foreword** :

 _This story is a mixture of an original concept as well as influenced ideas. Emeralds for Snakes is part one of two or three stories centered on Harry and his quest to save the wizarding world, as well as achieving his goal of having his own family. This story will kick off with the introduction of an original character who will become a major player in the second part of this series, however will be minor at best in this story. This story is inspired by the works of Dorothea Greengrass, Sinyk, James Spookie, Colt01, CaskettFan5, Shygui, LeadVonE, and all others who write such excellent stories on this website._

 _I will say now that there may be some similarities to stories written by the aforementioned authors. This is intended as a compliment, and I do not aspire to steal their work, or from their work. Emeralds for Snakes is intended to be between 20 and 30 chapters long, chronical the Hogwarts years, and will be relatively uneventful especially in the first three years. I will be cutting out a lot of canon material, and including some canon material. Voldemort will be present although will not be the main antagonist for the entire series, I feel there is only so much that can be done with Voldemort, and a lot of that has already been accomplished. There will be character bashing, and no character will be safe from it. This will be a multi-POV story, though most all of it will be Harry's. I do have the final pairings mostly decided, however as characters develop I may change minor pairings. Major pairings are already decided and will not change. I do not intend to have characters almost immediately get paired with their final partners, and because of this, there will be parts where you will like certain characters one moment, and dislike them (hopefully) at others._

 _I have an intended word count goal for each chapter of 8-10 thousand words, and as such, please expect six to eight weeks between updates, as I am not used to writing so many words, and it will require time and effort. Being the father of a ten-month old, as well as having work and other responsibilities does not afford me all the time needed to get good long qualities chapters out on a weekly or biweekly basis, though if I can get a chapter out sooner, then expect it as soon as it can be posted._

 _A special thank you is owed to TheRainyAbe who did the beta work on this chapter._

 _I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own any work or references you may recognize. I am joining this rather crowded sandbox built by JK Rowling, and don't intend to leave, sorry._

 **Prologue:**

 _ **Madurai, India, October 31, 1979, unnamed hospital room, approximately 23:56**_

The sounds of a woman screaming in pain permeated through the hospital ward. Her screams were even heard outside the room. Twelve hours earlier she had been brought to the hospital by her husband after she felt a very distinct feeling of wetness down the inside of her legs. This was a moment they both had been expecting since June of last year, but was nevertheless frightening to the two of them.

The next several hours of labour pain was the worst feeling she had ever experienced. Each contraction she felt seemed like it was going to split her in half from the waist up, and with the blood her husband could see while standing next to her, he thought that she was actually being split in half.

The doctor came into the room once an hour, pronouncing her at each check to have dilated another centimeter, though to the woman, it was akin to torture. The nurse then told the woman what was expected of her as she pushed. With each contraction, she screamed and pushed with all her might, but the child was not coming out. The doctor came in thirty minutes before midnight, and after seeing the woman push two more times, decided that it was time to take drastic measures. He attached a vacuum to the head of the infant trying to enter the world, and on the next contraction pulled with all his might, while the mother pushed.

They were rewarded for their efforts by the sound of a newborn baby crying moments later after the umbilical cord was cut and the newborn air passages suctioned out. The mother collapsed back on the bed, breathing heavily, her darker skin was slightly pale, and sweat and tears streamed down her face. Several minutes later she felt the placenta exit her body, along with another stream of blood and other fluids. Her husband had left with their newborn to view the infant's first bath, as well as ensure that nothing was wrong with the infant after the dramatic last several hours.

The new mother was patched up, having just delivered into the world another life and moved from the delivery room to a recovery room. Moments later her newborn was brought to her, and immediately placed against her chest. The mother pulled out one of her breasts as she had been taught by the midwife, and helped guide the little one, who while was not able to see all that well was able to locate the areola and with help from his mother, latched on and began feeding for the first time. She had a smile on her face, feeling the tugging of the baby as he fed on her. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and more tears began to well up in her eyes.

Her husband stood by her, assisting her with everything she asked for. His excitement was palpable, and he could not beat down the feeling of pride in his newborn son. They had no idea what was instore for them though, with the birth of this child. They had no idea that in a world they knew nothing of, a prophecy was being made at that moment, a prophecy that had implications that were most dire to the world at large.

This prophesy was being made in the presence of who was known as the most evil and dark wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort. Voldemort however was less concerned with the prophesy than he should have been, because if he had been paying attention he would have known that at that moment, a child was born that would either aide him, or be his complete destruction.

In the recovery room of the hospital, a newborn child received his name, Eustace Ravi Narayana, and the next ten years of his life would be years that his parents could not have known would bring to them so many fears, nor as much joy.

 _ **June 8, 1984, an unnamed village in the Indian peninsula, south of the Nilgiris**_

Eustace was running through the woods, a smile on his face, He had just been playing with some of the other children in his village when he felt a tug to go into the brush. After several minutes of walking, not fully knowing where he was going, he found a drop off. Around him were trees, entwined with vines and the sounds of insects and other wild life. The nearly five-year-old boy was not afraid however. He saw the boa constrictor next to one of the trees, and knew that it was this snake that he was being pulled to. He started to approach the snake when he thought he heard a voice. The voice was slightly high pitched, disembodied, and flattering. It told him of the greatness in his heart, at his core. Reaching the snake, Eustace let out a loud scream and the world went black.

Eustace awoke several hours later next to the cliff, not knowing how he got there. He stood up and ran back to the village as fast as he could, crying, but why he could not tell. He was scared, and like any other child needing the comfort of his parents.

When he arrived back at the village, the sight that beholden him was frightening to say the least. The buildings were all burned to the ground, he could see bodies all around, some burned, others dismembered. He slowly approached his home, now screaming out for his mother and father.

He entered the remains of the only home he knew in his young life, and fainted at the sight. There, in the middle of the ruins, was his mother and father, both clearly dead, dismembered, and their heads staring blankly towards the door.

By the time Eustace regained consciousness, the military and police from a major city had arrived and were investigating the destruction. Eustace was the only survivor, having not been in the village when it was destroyed.

He was taken to an orphanage in Madurai.

 _ **November 5**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1986, Kiaan Orphanage, Madurai, India**_

"The boy has always been a little off. He was found in a ruined building with who we are assuming to be his parents, murdered in brutal fashion. We were not given the details, and we do not know what he saw, but he has always been silent." The mother of the orphanage was showing the couple a picture of Eustace. He was dressed smartly in a blue pinstriped suit, though it looked like it was old even in the picture. He hair was combed to the side, framing his face nicely. For a seven-year-old boy, he looked very handsome indeed.

The woman smiled at the picture, "Could we meet him?"

"Certainly, but I need to let you know, strange things happen around him sometimes, usually after one of the other boys has been picking on him. One time we had a boy swear to us that he was thrown bodily into a wall without any contact. Another time, one of the boy's pants randomly caught fire," The mother said, as she got up to go and retrieve Eustace from his room.

The couple looked at each other, neither showing any surprise at the mother's revelation. They knew perfectly well _what_ Eustace was, what they didn't know is what it would do to Eustace to reveal it to him. They knew at that moment though that adopting him and removing him from India was best for the child, that way he could grow and let his powers of magic manifest. It was only two more years until he would start at Hogwarts, and be able to overcome the demons of his past.

Mother and Eustace returned moments later, Eustace was wearing a light grey t-shirt that seemed to be a bit loose on him, blue jeans, and a slight but shy smile. The boy didn't say anything, but everyone could read the excitement on his face, his hope that he may finally be able to have a family. Something he had lost four years ago without any explanation.

The couple looked at Eustace, and then looked at Mother. They both decided then that no matter what, no matter the cost, and no matter what laws they had to break, Eustace was returning to Britain with them.

"Hello, Eustace," the woman smiled at him, speaking softly, "We would like to introduce ourselves. My name is Mahiti Patil, this is my husband, Santhana. We would like to know if you wanted to be a part of our family."

Eustace's eyes lit up, the couple in front of him really wanted him to be a part of their family? He had no idea what to do, nothing to say to that because he feared to speak. He only nodded, and allowed the grin he was hiding to show itself. It was a very toothy grin, and seemed just a little out of place on his otherwise straight face.

This time Santhana spoke, "We also have two daughters who are just a little bit younger than you are, they are spending time with their grandparents now, but here's a picture of them. This one is Parvati, and this one here is Padma. They're twins, and they'll be your little sisters."

Santhana handed the picture to Eustace, and made a motion that he could keep the picture with him for now.

Mother spoke at that point, and told Eustace to go back to his room while she spoke with the Patils, and that he should probably start getting ready to leave. Eustace flashed another smile and ran off, knowing that he now had a family. A new mother, father, and even something he didn't have before, siblings. He already loved all four of them, they were taking him away from here and bringing him into their family.

 _ **April 15**_ _ **th**_ _ **, 1987, Patil household, Outer London, near Surrey**_

Eustace was in the backyard playing with a toy broom. He was on it and zooming around the fenced and warded yard. No muggles around the home in the northern part of Surrey could see anything going on. Parvati was standing outside watching her now older brother zoom around, a look of wonder in her eyes. Padma was inside studying, like she always did.

The broom that Eustace was on didn't go more than about two feet off the ground, but was fast enough to test his reflexes. He zoomed by Parvati, trying to make a sharp turn and accidently hit Parvati in the back, knocking her over. He crumpled to the ground, the force of hitting the girl and how fast he was going was too much to resist falling. He stood up, unharmed, but looked at his sister. She was crying on the ground, her arm obviously broken.

Eustace just looked at her for another moment, and without saying anything turned and ran into the house to get Mahiti.

 _ **July 24, 1990, Patil household, Surrey**_

An owl landed in a tree outside a household in the northern part of Surrey. It was early morning, around six fifteen. If anyone paid close attention to the owl, they would have noticed that tied to its leg was an envelope. The envelope was made of a pastel ivory looking paper, and seemed to be pretty thick. Written in a brilliant green ink were the words:

 _To Mr. Eustace Narayana,_

 _First floor, second bedroom_

 _Surrey, London, England._

On the back of the envelope there looked to be a coat of arms. It was an ornate looking kite-shield shaped emblem, on the top left corner was the image of a roaring lion, beneath that was a badger, next to the badger was an eagle, and on the top right was a serpent. These images surrounded the letter _H_ which sat in the middle of the shield. Beneath the shield were the words d _raco dormiens nanquam titillandus_ , which translated to _Never tickle a sleeping dragon_. Wise words to live by if you asked anybody who would know.

The owl was waiting for some sort if indication of life inside the house, and after just a few minutes of waiting, a window in front of the owl opened, and the face of a boy appeared in the now open window. Eustace scanned the sky and then lower, only just to notice that the owl was divebombing him. So, it seemed at least. Just before the owl hit him, it stopped and landed lightly on the windowsill. Eustace started at the owl in wonder. He knew what this was, he had been waiting silently and patiently for two years now, since his parents had told him that he would be attending this school when he turned eleven years old.

He had been eleven for several months now, and with a grin on his face, he removed the envelope from the owl, gave the owl a treat he had next to his window just for this occasion, and let the owl fly off. Eustace went to his desk, picked up his letter opener and sliced the top of the envelope open. He pulled out two pieces of heavy ivory parchment. Opening one, he saw the following words:

 _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _Headmaster:_ Albus Dumbledore

 _(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

 _Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

 _Dear Mr. Narayana,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

 _Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _Deputy Headmistress_

Eustace's eyes lit up with joy as he read the letter. It signified that he would most definitely be attending, and mum said that they would handle the owl to inform Hogwarts of his impending attendance. Eustace turned his eyes to the other piece of parchment that came out of the envelope, picked it up and unfolded it. Inside it read:

 _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

 _UNIFORM_

 _First-year students will require:_

 _Three sets of plain work robes (black)_

 _One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear_

 _One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)_

 _One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)_

 _Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags._

 _COURSE BOOKS_

 _All students should have a copy of the following:_

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

 _by Miranda Goshawk_

A History of Magic

 _by Bathilda Bagshot_

Magical Theory

 _by Adalbert Waffling_

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration

 _by Emeric Switch_

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

 _By Phyllida Spore_

Magical Drafts and Potions

 _By Arsenus Jigger_

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

 _By Newt Scamander_

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

 _By Quentin Trimble_

 _OTHER EQUIPMENT_

 _1 wand_

 _1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)_

 _1 set glass or crystal phials_

 _1 telescope_

 _1 set brass scales_

 _Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad._

 _PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS_

 _ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus_

 _Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions_

Eustace gathered up the envelope, letter, and supply list, stood up and hurried to the ground floor to get breakfast and show the letter this his parents and sisters. They would be up soon, and Raimi, the house elf would have started breakfast already.

 _ **September 1, 1990, Platform 9 ¾, Kings Cross station, London**_

Eustace looked at the scarlet steam engine in front of him in wonder. He was left, unsurprisingly to his family, speechless by the sight. They had yet to hear him utter a single word since his adoption nearly four years ago, and according to the lady who ran the orphanage, he had not ever spoken while there. They had learned to understand him by his eyes and body language however.

His mother could see the excitement and wonder in his eyes, and it brought a smile to her face. The train would be leaving in ten minutes, which was enough time to give him a hug and say good-bye. As she reached over to Eustace and pulled him into a tight one arm hug, Parvati wrapped her arms around him and gave him a tight hug as well.

"You need to write us lots of letters and tell us all about the castle, brother!" Parvati squealed, letting Eustace go and stepping back. This created room for Padma to give her brother a hug and a smile.

"Good luck brother, and we will see you at Christmas," Padma, always the calmest of the three, said.

Eustace smiled at his sisters, but didn't say anything. His eyes however spoke volumes, and he was grateful for their support. The two girls had immediately latched onto their brother when he joined their family, much to their parents' amusement and joy. Eustace returned each hug in turn, and then squeezed his mother and made eye contact with his father.

Sanathan Patil smiled down at his son, and opened his arms. Eustace jumped into his arms giving him a big hug, backed away and smiled back. Sanathan helped Eustace get his trunk onto the train and into a compartment. In the compartment were two other students, one a girl with mousey brown hair, who looked to be the same age as Eustace, and the other a boy with dark brown hair, who also looked to be about the same age. They smiled at Eustace and Sanathan.

"Hi, I'm Katie, Katie Bell, and this is Cormac McClaggen. We're first years too," The girl introduced herself and the boy. Cormac looked Eustace up and down, smiled and nodded in greeting.

"I am Sanathan Patil, and this is my son, Eustace. He is just starting at Hogwarts as well." Sanathan looked at both first year students as if sizing them up. After a moment, he smiled, gave Eustace another one-armed hug, and left the compartment. Eustace turned back to the other two and smiled at them, then took a seat next to the window across from Katie. Eustace watched as Katie picked up the book she had been reading when he and his father walked in. It was titled _Almost Heaven_. Eustace didn't recognize the book, and stared at the cover of the book which had a blonde woman in a green dress on it. The author's name was written across the cover at the top along with the words _#1 New York Times Bestselling author_ , which told Eustace that it was a muggle story.

Cormac returned to his book titled _Quidditch Through the Ages_ , which Eustace had seen at home, though he hadn't read it. Eustace didn't have any interest in the sport, he was more of an academic _prodigy_ , or so he thought. Eustace felt slightly out of place however not having a book of his own out to read, so he stood up and climbed onto the chair so he could reach his trunk.

The book that he pulled out was a fiction book written by the squib J.R.R. Tolkien entitled _The Samarillian_ , which told the creationism story of his other works _The Hobbit_ and _The Lord of the Rings_. Eustace sat down, opened to his marked page, he was just about 100 pages into the story, relaxed in the seat and started reading. The train jerked and started moving.

 _ **September 1, 1990, several hours later, Hogwarts Great Hall**_

Professor McGonagall guided the small class of new first year students into the Great Hall, down the middle between the house tables. They were in a double line, with girls on one side, boys on the other. The house table on the far left had students with red trim on their robes, next to them were students with yellow trim. On the far right side students had green trim, and next to them students had blue trim. Eustace studied the hall further and saw that there was a stool with an old tattered looking hat. The hat was in front of another table that was perpendicular to the house tables. This table sat the teachers, and at the center was an old man with waist length white hair and beard. There was a twinkle in his blue eyes and a slight smile on his face.

Professor McGonagall signaled for the lines of students to stop, and proceeded up the two stairs and stood next to the hat. She held a rolled up piece of parchment in her hands and stood there waiting patiently, along with all the other students staring directly at the hat, for something to happen. Suddenly the brim split and the hat broke into song:

 _I've done this job for centuries  
On every student's head I've sat  
Of thoughts I take inventories  
For I'm the famous Sorting Hat._

I've sorted high, I've sorted low,  
I've done the job through thick and thin  
So put me on and you will know  
Which house you should be in...

 _By Gryffindor, the bravest were  
Prized far beyond the rest;  
For Ravenclaw, the cleverest  
Would always be the best;_

For Hufflepuff, hard workers were  
Most worthy of admission;  
And power-hungry Slytherin  
Loved those of great ambition.

While still alive they did divide  
Their favorites from the throng,  
Yet how to pick the worthy ones  
When they were dead and gone?

 _So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!_

The hall broke out into applause as the hat ended its song and went silent. Once the applause ended, Professor McGonagall unrolled the parchment and started calling names. The first name she called was one that Eustace recognized…

"Bell, Katelyn," McGonagall called out, and Katie calmly strolled up to the hat, and sat down on the stool. The hat paused for a moment and seemed to analyze Katie.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted, and the students on the far left who had red trim on their robes, started clapping. Katie hopped off the stool, removed the hat and returned it to Professor McGonagall and nearly skipped off to the Gryffindor table.

After a few more students were sorted, a cute Asian girl was called up by the name of Cho Chang. She was sorted into Ravenclaw. It took several more minutes before another name Eustace recognized was called, this time it was Marietta Edgecombe. He recognized the name because he had heard his father talking about the Edgecombe family in reference to his work at the ministry. She was also sorted into Ravenclaw, and took a seat right next to Cho Chang.

Several minutes later, Cormac McClaggen was also called and sorted quickly into Gryffindor. Two more students were sorted before:

"Narayana, Eustace," Professor McGonagall called out.

Eustace slowly approached the stool and sat down. When he sat down, the hat was put on his head and fell down his face, covering it. He heard a voice whisper into his ear, "Hmm, interesting mind. There's tragedy here, and some fear. Do not be fearful you will find your path here at Hogwarts. There's ambition, oh yes, I can see it clearly in your head. You have a certain intelligence I haven't seen in nearly fifty years, you would do well in Slytherin or Ravenclaw…"

Eustace sat there listening to the hat's voice muttering in his ear, trying to determine where to put him. His thoughts turned towards his adoptive parents and his sisters, and that seemed to be the trigger the hat needed.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"


	2. One

_A/N: First off, a massive, massive thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the Prologue. It was great watching my view count as well as seeing the incoming notifications of favourites and follows that came in during the first few hours of the publishing of the story._

 _Second off, another massive thank you is owed to TheRainyAbe, who took the time to work with me and went through each paragraph one by one as my beta, picking apart each line. Another major thank you goes to LeadVonE, Dorothea Greengrass, sfu, and Shygui who all agreed to work with me on this chapter, giving me pointers and suggestions._

 _I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own any work or references you may recognize. I am joining this rather crowded sandbox built by JK Rowling, and don't intend to leave, sorry._

■ EfS ■

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted out.

The typical applause that followed the sorting of a new first year was absent from the hall. There was a stunned silence for a moment before whispers began to break out slowly. It was one of the longest hat-stalls anyone had ever seen; the boy just sat there, unmoving, with empty eyes, as if trying to register what just happened. The young wizard had ridden the whole train ride with a ginger boy named Ron Weasley, and had met several other first year students like Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Draco Malfoy and his two goons, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Now, against the boy's better wishes, he was going to be sharing a dorm with the latter three. For the next seven years, he was going to have to deal with the latter three boys and obnoxious nature. Eight other students had already been sorted into Slytherin, and there were still several students left to be sorted; but now no one knew what to think or do.

After several moments, the table on the far right started to applaud, though half-heartedly. The hat was removed and revealed a meek looking first year. His hair was jet-black, and his eyes were the colour of flawless, polished emeralds. This boy was famed as the defeater of one of the worst Dark Lords to ever exist, Lord Voldemort. They called him The-Boy-Who-Lived. His real name was Harry Potter.

■ EfS ■

Harry himself was in shock. The sorting hat had told him that Slytherin house would help him on his way to greatness, but it had also gone through giving him qualities suited for each other house. He asked the hat not to put him in Slytherin, but the hat sorted him there anyways. Now he was stuck amongst the snakes, a house that he had been told was a harbor for dark wizards in training.

Slytherin house was one for the ambitious and cunning though, and since most dark wizards came from Slytherin house, it developed a macabre reputation. Hagrid had said that not a single witch or wizard who went bad hadn't been in Slytherin, hadn't he? How could the one who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named be put into the serpent's house? Everyone would now believe that he only won because he was a future dark wizard himself. Would he be? Harry stood up from the stool, scanned the table he now needed to sit at, and found a seat between a platinum blonde girl with sapphire eyes. Across from her was another girl with raven hair, chocolate eyes, and a mischievous smile on her face. Next to the raven-haired girl was a weedy black-haired boy, and Harry sat across from him. The gangly boy gave a long calculating gaze at Harry, then turned his face back towards the sorting hat, which was now sorting Leanne Proctor into Hufflepuff.

Most students however were still staring at Harry, as if nothing else interesting or important was going on in the hall. Harry sat down, eyes still blank, not noticing that the rest of the hall still stared at him. Tracey was looking at him as if she thought that he had been broken.

It was another ten minutes before Professor McGonagall removed the sorting hat from the last student, and Blaise Zabini walked over to the Slytherin table and sat beside the weedy boy. The headmaster stood up at that point, and with only a few words of greeting, raised his hands and an elegant feast appeared out of nowhere on the plates in front of them.

The plates were now filled with pork chops, roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and the like. Harry started filling his plate with a bit of everything, while the raven-haired girl fixed her eyes on him. The moment he stopped putting food on his plate, she spoke.

"How on earth did you end up here, Potter?" She asked, unabashed, without missing a beat.

Harry gaped at her for a moment before finding his voice, "Honestly, I don't know. The hat told me Slytherin would help me achieve greatness, and then put me here."

She didn't look convinced, but her eyes darted towards the girl across from her. Harry followed her eyes and looked straight into the sapphire eyes of the girl next to him. She didn't smile, and there was little warmth in her eyes. Her face was impassive, though her high cheekbones, small quaint nose, and shaped eyebrows presented the potential beauty of the girl next to him. The raven-haired girl spoke again, this time to introduce herself.

"Well, you're here now Potter, and there's no sense in being overly rude to you… yet. I'm Tracey Davis, and that blonde haired, blue eyed demon next to you is Daphne Greengrass."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement, and remembered watching both be sorted into Slytherin. Both had seemed to be sorted where they expected to go, and after having the hat removed, elegantly walked [or skipped over] to their seat at the table.

The weedy boy was watching Harry again, as if trying to stare a hole right through him. Harry remembered his name. Theodore Nott didn't appear to be the type to want to cause problems or anything, but the look in his eyes was something akin to intense dislike. He didn't say anything, but continued to eat.

"It's a pleasure to meet the both of you, Tracey, Daphne," Harry replied politely with a nod at both girls. Tracey giggled slightly, but Daphne's face betrayed nothing of how she felt.

"It is nice to finally meet the Boy-Who-Lived," Daphne replied, but in a voice, that did not quite suit her. It almost seemed mocking, like she was testing his reaction.

"I would prefer you call me Harry, the whole Boy-Who-Lived tosh is just that, a load of tosh. I don't want to be known for something I had no control over." Harry replied in a serious voice, one that appeared to resonate with Daphne, and visibly impressed Tracey. The only person who didn't seem surprised was Draco Malfoy. Malfoy seemed to be completely distrustful. He sneered at Harry but didn't necessarily say anything audible. He was still smarting from what happened on the train when he was bitten on the hand by the rat that Ron Weasley had brought to school with him.

Harry ignored him though, knowing Malfoy's type since it was so similar to his whale of a cousin, Dudley. Malfoy would just sneer, and say mean rude things to him to make himself look better. Harry wouldn't be impressed by that, and judging by how some of the other students looked at this table, they wouldn't either.

Daphne turned back to her food; Harry glanced at her, slightly puzzled by why she would want to get a rise out of him but decided not to pursue the matter. He turned back to his own plate of food and went back to eating.

After a while, all the food disappeared and was replaced by various desserts. Harry observed various desserts, but opted to get some of the treacle tart and some ice cream.

Soon the desserts were gone, and Dumbledore stood again, this time looking like he was ready to give a proper welcoming speech.

"To our first years, welcome. To our returning students, welcome back. I have just a few start of term announcements to make before sending you off to bed. First, all students should note that the forest on the grounds is in fact forbidden. Second, Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that the list of banned items is posted on his office door, and currently consists some four hundred items, including fanged Frisbees, dung bombs, and stink pellets.

Third, students will please avoid the right-hand side of the third-floor corridor, as it is now off limits to all those who do not wish to die a most painful death." There was a slight commotion at those words, some students laughed, others looked slightly worried.

"I would like to remind students that the inter-house Quidditch cup will begin with the first match taking place on October 20th. Any students second year and above should speak to their head of house about tryouts if they are interested. I believe that is everything of relevance this evening. Bed time, chop-chop."

At these words, there was a loud scraping of wood on stone as students rose from their chairs and started following each other out of the great hall. A tall boy in robes with a green trim waved over to the new first year Slytherins to approach him. He had a silver badge with a green capital P on the front.

"My name is Cadmus Warrington, I am one of your fifth-year prefects. I will lead you to our common room. It is in the dungeons underneath the lake. Follow me." With that, Warrington turned and started walking off towards the dungeons of the castle without so much as a second glance back to ensure that the first years were following.

After several minutes of walking, they were lead to a blank space of wall with what looked like a window into nothing in the shape of a T. Here Warrington stopped, and waited for the rest of the first years to approach. Once they were all there, he began speaking again.

"This is the entrance to our common room. Today's password is _serpent_. When we enter, you will remain in the common room while the rest of the students proceed to bed. Professor Snape, our head of house, has a few ground rules that he needs to set in place with you, as you are now representatives of the noble house of Slytherin, and there are certain protocols that you need to ensure that you follow." Warrington turned around at that, and spoke the password the door moved back into the wall and slid off to the left with a groan of stone on stone.

Harry followed Tracey and Daphne into the common room of the house. It was lit by a dim green light, had posh looking black arm chairs and couches scattered around the room. There were some tables in the room as well. There were two doors, one on each side of the room, the door on the left side of the room lead to the girl's dormitory, while the one on the right lead to the boys according to Warrington. Warrington then once again informed the first years to stay in the common room, and took his leave.

Several minutes later, it was only the ten new students were standing there waiting. It was then that the entrance to the common room opened again, and a sallow faced man with a hooked nose and long greasy looking black hair walked into the room, his cloak bellowing behind him as if he were walking into wind.

"I am Professor Snape. You will address me as either Professor or Sir. There are a few important matters that I must inform you of before you go and make our house look bad. First, I expect all of you to be in the top twenty of students in your year, no exception. Second, you are not to let petty intra-house rivalries overflow into the public eye. Anything that has to do within Slytherin house must stay within Slytherin house. No exceptions. I will not hesitate to give detentions to those who fail to keep their petty squabbles inside this common room.

"There will be absolutely no duelling in the corridors, however if a duel is needed to settle a matter, you will speak with Cadmus Warrington, who will set a time and officiate. You have been warned on this matter. Finally, breakfast is at 7:45 sharp. You are expected to be in the Great Hall at that time during the week, altogether, and appearing as if there are no issues between you. You will put up a united front in public or there will be dire consequences. Now off to bed, you will need to be in the Great Hall by 7:45."

Snape dismissed them, turned around and started walking out of the room. He was almost out when he turned back around, "And, Potter, if I see you strutting around, I will put you into detention until we break you of that nasty habit." Snape left the room. Malfoy snickered at that.

"Remember that Potter, no strutting around like the arrogant ponce you are," Malfoy said and proceeded to push Harry out of his way as he went towards the boy's dorm.

"Malfoy, I think you're going the wrong way, the girls room is on the left side," Harry retorted. Tracey guffawed in a most unladylike fashion, Harry saw Daphne's eyes flashed in amusement although no other changes to her face were present. Malfoy however turned around and looked Harry up and down.

"Don't worry Potter, as I am sure you will soon find out, I am more of a man than you could ever hope to be. Your filthy mudblood mother saw to it that I was bigger and better than you," Malfoy sneered at him, hate coursing through his eyes. At that Harry pulled out his wand, and red sparks went flying out of it, hitting Malfoy in the face and causing what looked to be very painful blisters start to appear. Malfoy's hands jumped to his face and a groan of pain came out, confirming that the blisters were most definitely painful.

Harry looked satisfied by this, turned to look at Daphne and Tracey, Daphne looked slightly impressed. Tracey was still laughing though now hiding her laughter behind her hands. "Good night Daphne, Tracey," and Harry turned back, started walking towards the boy's dorm, where Malfoy was still standing in front of. Harry bodily pushed Malfoy off to the side and walked through the door. He smiled to himself, this was him one, and Malfoy zero.

Harry found the door marked First Years, opened it and looked around the dorm room. There were beds in here in a circle around the room, and in front of each bed was a different trunk. He found his trunk quickly, opened it and pulled out his pyjamas, changed, and got into his bed. He closed the curtains around the bed, and drifted off to sleep.

■ EfS ■

It was 7:45 in the morning, and Harry was walking into the Great Hall next to Daphne and Tracey. They seemed to be the most accepting of him, especially after what happened the previous night. Malfoy was not at breakfast, haven been taken to the hospital wing by Pansy to get the blisters removed. Tracey was talking animatedly, a smile on her face. Harry was quickly figuring out that this girl was very mischievous and would probably not be above pranking people. He would have to watch out for her.

When he walked into the Great Hall, his eyes roamed over to the Hufflepuff table as if something had attracted them. He saw a brown skinned boy who he thought looked similar to the Patil twins who had been sorted the previous night. He thought he may be their older brother. The boy was staring right at Harry. He caught Harry's eye, and Harry thought he saw some kind of glint in his eyes that Harry could not identify.

Pushing that to the back of his mind, he sat down next to Daphne at the Slytherin table and began to build his English breakfast. The only thing he didn't put on his plate was the black pudding, which he had never liked even though he cooked it for his Uncle Vernon all the time. Harry was sure that his uncle liked it because of how barbaric he was.

A little past midway through breakfast, Professor Snape came by and gave them class schedules. The first class they had was History of Magic and it started at 8:30 on the fourth-floor west wing. It was now 8:10, and Harry knew he needed to go back to his dorm to get his bag. He rose from the table and started to leave the hall when someone called his name. Turning towards the voice, he saw that Professor Snape was walking towards him, cloak still bellowing behind him.

"Come with me Potter, we have a matter to discuss," Professor Snape said, and lead Harry into the dungeons. On the same landing as the common room, Harry was directed into a room he had not noticed last night. It was obviously Professor Snape's office.

"I am told that you attacked Malfoy last night. Explain yourself, Potter," Snape said, there was a cold tone to his voice, and Harry thought that the dislike in the air was palpable.

"He pushed me after calling me arrogant. I told him he was going to the wrong dorm, and then he insulted my mother. I pulled out my wand and showered him with red sparks," Harry explained simply. The look in Snape's eyes did not change in the slightest, and Harry knew that was not the story he had received. Harry could also tell that Snape did not believe his story.

"Did I not just tell you minutes before that duelling was not allowed, and if I were made aware of any, you would receive detentions? You have detention every night for the rest of the week. Be in this office by 8:00 this evening for your first detention. Do not attack another student unprovoked again, Potter, or the consequences will be more severe. Now get to class," Snape shooed him away with a wave of his hand. Harry looked at his watch and saw that it was now 8:23, and there was no way he was going to be able to get his books and to class on time. Leaving Snape's office, Harry nearly ran headlong into Theodore Nott. Nott gave him a glare, then held out a bag to Harry.

"I got your bag for you Potter, I saw Snape take you into his office. We need to get to class. Good job, by the way, taking that git down a step, but this isn't over yet. Malfoy is going to want to get back at you." Theodore said.

"Thank you for that, and you're right. I know Malfoy's type, he won't stop for anything, no matter how embarrassed he gets. I will just have to not stoop to his level." Harry replied, taking the bag from Theodore.

"Call me Theo," Theo said, as they fell into step next to each other, pacing quickly to the west side of the fourth floor. They walked into the classroom right at 8:30. Daphne had a spot open next to her, and gave Harry a pointed look. Harry caught her meaning, nodded to Theo and took the seat next to the girl.

The professor glided in through the blackboard seconds after Harry sat next to Daphne, and Theo next to Blaise. Blaise glanced at Theo, then at Harry. He gave a slightly disparaging look at Harry, causing Harry to question what he had done to the boy.

Harry soon forgot everything else as the professor, who identified himself as Professor Binns, started lecturing about the beginnings of Magical Britain, and all mental functions turned off. After what felt like a few seconds, but may have been longer, Harry felt something nudge his shoulder. He opened his eyes after feeing a second nudge, and a soft hand on his shoulder. He looked at the hand and followed the arm up to the face of the person who was shaking him awake.

"Come on Potter, it's time for us to get to transfiguration. I heard McGonagall is even stricter than Snape…" It was Daphne who was trying to wake him up. This was only the second time she had said anything to him, though this time her voice didn't have the mocking tone. It was cooler, but it didn't seem as if she thought badly of him.

Harry nodded and started to stand up. He went to put his book in his bag, but realized he never even took out his book or quill and parchment. Sighing, Harry stood, pulled his bag up with him, and followed Daphne and Tracey out of the room and towards the fifth-floor east wing to transfiguration.

"Potter, do you need the notes for that class? I can let you borrow mine this one time if you do. Just try not to fall asleep in class again," Daphne offered, this time without any coolness to her voice, almost friendly.

"Sure, thank you. I will try to not fall asleep in that class, but I don't understand how he can make the founding of Magical Britain so dull," Harry replied, thankful for the offer, but disconcerted that it came at the price of managing to stay awake in class to take his own notes.

"It becomes easier when you've been taught most of it already. Didn't your guardians teach you anything?" Daphne asked. Harry's face fell a little.

"My, err, relatives didn't really tell me much," Harry replied. There was a gasp next to him at his words.

"You mean, you grew up with muggles? Did they even tell you about magic at all?" Tracey asked.

"No, I didn't know about being a wizard until I got my Hogwarts letter," Harry said, not necessarily liking the direction of this conversation. He felt like he was giving away too much information to these two girls. That was until Tracey nearly jumped on him and hugged him. Harry's first instinct was to stiffen up and he tried to push Tracey off him, before realizing it was just a hug. It was a nice hug too he thought, though he had never once had a hug before that, at least one that he could remember.

Tracey realized almost at once she had made a mistake in initiating contact with Harry, and even though he began to relax, she had let him go and taken a step back. She blushed a little, and caught Daphne's eye. Daphne had given her a critical look then looked at Harry with a slightly contemplative one.

"I'm sorry Harry!" Tracey nearly shouted. Harry winced at that, he really didn't want everyone to know how he would react to being touched. He had to remember that not everyone was his uncle, and an absolute monster. How would he ever interact with others if he couldn't stand being touched?

"It's okay Tracey, just don't go shouting about it, please. I don't like to talk about my life with my relatives," Harry almost whispered to the girl, but both girls heard him. Tracey nodded her ascent, and they continued their way to transfiguration. They were almost there when they heard the warning bell, and they broke into a run, making it to class just before they were tardy.

■ EfS ■

The rest of the day passed by with more or less the same thing from each of their other classes. Professor Sprout in the greenhouses went over how each student was responsible for making sure that they covered themselves and each other as some of the plants could be dangerous. The main example of this were the Venomous Tentacula, which she showed the class. It looked like a Venus fly-trap, but it was moving and bobbing around.

The diminutive charms professor, Flitwick, went through his role call and squeaked at Harry's name. Daphne smirked at that, though no one noticed her amused glace at Harry. Professor Flitwick went on to talk to each student about the theory of magic and how each different branch utilized the witch or wizard's magical core.

Professor Flitwick promised a more in-depth study later in the term on how the magical core developed, strengthened, and how they could identify in themselves their major strengths by searching their own magical core.

Three days passed with relative quiet outside of classes. It was at this point that Harry was walking into the Slytherin common room, having just left the library. He was putting the final touches on his Transfiguration essay which he had titled Matches to Needles: Understanding the properties of wood into metal Transfiguration, and noticed that he had not only missed dinner, but it was five minutes to first year curfew.

Harry looked around the common room trying to see if there was anyone he could sit with and discuss their homework when someone ran into him from behind.

"Move it Potter, you're in my way," the voice of the person who ran into him drawled.

Harry stumbled, caught himself and stepped to the side, looking behind him and seeing a neatly combed back head of blond hair, steel blue eyes, and an arrogant grin. It was Malfoy and his stooges.

Malfoy blew past him with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him, moving quickly to the boy's dorm. Malfoy held a wrapped box in his hand. Harry wondered briefly was it was before he heard a huff from the left corner of the common room. Looking that way, he saw Tracey and Daphne with books out on a table between them. They were watching what had just happened, and Harry could tell that Daphne had noticed the package because she was staring intently at the door to boy's dorm.

Harry walked over to them, sat down, and smiled at the two girls. Tracey smiled brightly at him and turned back to her essay. Daphne simply nodded her head in greeting and returned to work. Harry felt a bit awkward. He knew both girls were determined to get their work done before the weekend, but he wasn't sure why.

■ EfS ■

Harry and Tracey were walking out of the Great Hall together after breakfast, behind them was Daphne who appeared to be caught up in her own thoughts and not really paying attention to where they were going.

Harry guided them down towards the dungeons for their first potions lesson with Professor Snape. Harry had one other encounter earlier in the week with Snape, and felt like he came out of it worse for wear. It seemed like Snape just didn't like him at all.

They reached the doors to the potions classroom in the dungeons and joined the small queue. Harry looked back at Daphne and saw she was still seemingly staring off into space. He left her to her thoughts, deciding that he should be worrying about what the next hour with Snape would be like.

Slowly the rest of the Slytherin and Gryffindor first years arrived, and the door opened slowly. Framed on the other side of the door was a sallow faced man with a curtain of greasy black hair and a hooked nose.

"Enter and take your seats. Gryffindors on the left, Slytherins on the right." Snape said, and walked away from the door to allow the students to enter the room and go to their respective sides of the room. Harry sat at a table next to Tracey, leaving Daphne to sit next to Nott.

After the last Gryffindor walked into the room, the door suddenly snapped closed and Snape began speaking.

"There will be no foolish wand waiving, or silly incantations in this class. I can show you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death," Snape paused for a moment, looking at the suddenly silent class. The class looked back at him, a mix of emotions ranging from awe to disgust. Harry had parchment and quill out and was making notations with what Snape was saying.

"It seems however, that some of us feel the need to not pay attention. Mr. Potter, tell me, what would I get if I mixed powdered root of Asphodel with an infusion of wormwood?" Snape shot at Harry. Harry did not expect it the question and drew a blank.

"I don't know sir," Harry said. At that there was a sudden movement to his left, and he saw Granger practically bouncing in her seat, hand raised, ' _She knows, why doesn't Snape ask her?'_

"Really, Potter? Let's try again. Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"

Harry, this time ready for the question, thought for a second, thinking back to his book on magical herbs and fungi. He thought he remembered something about a bezoar in there, but what had it said?

Hermione was still bouncing in her seat trying to catch Snape's eyes. Harry decided to take a stab at the question and answered, "Would it be from a goat?"

Snape's lip curled, and he looked slightly murderous, but again asked another question, "what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"I don't know sir, but maybe Granger does?" Harry said, drawing attention to the girl who was all but standing waiving her hand in the air.

"Sit down girl, five points from Gryffindor for interrupting my class," Snape sneered at Hermione who put her hand down and looked completely dejected. Snape turned his sneer to Harry, "Clearly fame isn't everything. For your information Potter, powdered Asphodel and Wormwood make a sleeping potion so potent, it's called the draught of living death. As you so aptly put it, yes you would find a bezoar from a goat, it's stomach to be exact. Finally, monkshood and wolfsbane are the same thing, that also goes by the name aconite," Snape looked around the rest of the classroom, "Well? Why are you all writing this down?"

There was a scramble of students reaching for parchment and quill. Snape turned to the blackboard and waived his wand. A set of instructions appeared, "Once you are done recording the information I just provided you will begin to make this potion for curing boils. You have one hour."

The hour passed quickly with Tracey helping Harry get his potion right.

■ EfS ■

Harry and Tracey were walking out of potions class behind Daphne when Harry finally noticed her change in demeanour from yesterday. Her usual curtain of hair was pulled back in a hasty ponytail, and when he caught her eyes, they appeared blank.

Harry and Tracey followed Daphne into the courtyard, and when they were out of anyone else's earshot, Harry decide to investigate.

"What's up Daphne? You've been quiet ever since you got that owl yesterday. Is everything okay?"

"It's… ju- no, it's nothing, Harry," Daphne replied, shaking her head, "Thank you for reminding me though, I need to send a reply."

With that, Daphne walked away quickly, leaving Harry and Tracey behind. Tracey had been silently watching the whole time, and shrugged when Harry caught her eye.

"No idea what that was about… oh, yeah, did you start that essay for Sinistra?" She asked.

"No," Harry replied, distracted. His thoughts were on Daphne's behaviour. It seemed off from what he had seen of her so far in the week. She wouldn't meet his eye, and she wouldn't smile.

■ EfS ■

It was two weeks later that found Harry and Tracey in the library working on an essay for Snape on the properties of porcupine quills, and what to, and not do, when adding them to potions. It was an arduous task, especially as Snape expected everyone to learn the theory of potion brewing through self-study.

Harry was picking up bits of it, but Tracey was really helping him a lot. She seemed to be able to naturally understand everything about potions, or at least that's what it seemed like to Harry. She was able to explain to him that adding whole porcupine quills to a potion was extremely dangerous, and then equated it to something Harry had learned in muggle primary school, and that was like adding alkali metals to water.

They were just about done with their respective essays, which Tracey had done most of the work on both, when Malfoy appeared. He was once again holding a small package, and it looked like it was the same one that he had held a couple weeks ago when he nearly ran Harry over.

"Oh, look at this, it's Potty and Davis doing homework together… tell me Potter, do you _like_ hanging out with swine?" Tracey gasped at that, and looked both extremely angry and ready to cry. Did Malfoy find out about her parents somehow?

"Tell me Malfoy, do you carry Crabbe and Goyle with you everywhere because you can't change your own diaper?" Harry retorted.

Malfoy sneered but turned away. Over his shoulder he said, "You're going to really regret your attitude towards me Potter…"

Harry looked at Malfoy in disgust. Sure, they were housemates but that didn't mean he had to like Malfoy. He looked at Tracey again, "Tracey, you okay? What's up?"

"It's… it's nothing Harry," Tracey said, shaking her head, and then looking away from Harry. Harry thought he saw tears in her eyes, but was unsure of what to do to comfort her.

"I'm here for you Tracey, we're friends, and friend's stick together," Harry said, trying to do something to help make her feel somewhat better. It seemed to help, as Tracey looked back at Harry, a small watery smile on her face.

"Thanks Harry, you're a good friend," she said. She looked at her essay, shook her head and started packing up, "I'm done with this for now."

With that, she stood up and started out of the library. Harry watched her walk away from the table, before turning to his essay which only needed a conclusion. Deciding he can finish in the common room, he quickly packed and hurried after Tracey, so she wouldn't have to walk back to the dungeons alone.

■ EfS ■

Daphne was walking out of the Great Hall when she saw Harry and Tracey walking towards the dungeons. She waved to try and catch one of their eyes, and managed to get Harry. He smiled at her, and she gave a small tight-lipped smile in return.

She had been thinking about it for a while now, and had decided despite what she was told, she was going to try and be Harry's friend. She had received a letter that first Thursday night after everyone else had left the common room from her father. The letter had said that she should avoid Harry, but didn't explain why.

She had spent the next several days avoiding him and Tracey. Tracey seemed to be perfectly content being his friend, even though she had thought that her and Tracey had hit it off good on the train ride.

When she had reached the two of them, they all trooped down the stairs towards the Slytherin common room. At the entrance to the common room, Daphne pulled her resolve and opened her mouth.

"Harry, could I, uh, talk to you for a moment?" She felt awkward and stumbled a little over her words. Harry looked at her, and then at Tracey. ' _What happened to Tracey? She seems off,'_ Daphne thought, just now noticing that Tracey wasn't her normal self.

"It's okay Harry, I was going to go to my dorm anyways," Tracey said, turned and gave the password to the wall. She disappeared into the common room a moment later. Harry turned fully to look at Daphne, and she felt even more awkward.

"Let's go somewhere we can talk without being interrupted?" Daphne asked. Harry nodded, and they went further down past the common room entrance to an unused classroom nearby.

She again had to pull her resolve to talk to him after he walked in and closed the door. She looked at him, and saw his emerald green eyes looking at her questioningly. She propped herself on a student desk, not realizing it was dusty, and took a deep breath.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again. _'I can't do this… but…'_

She looked up and caught Harry's eyes. She thought they were accusatory. She opened her mouth again, and still no sound came out.

Harry seemed to understand, and spoke first, "Is this about why you've not talked to Tracey or me in the last two weeks?" There was no malice in his voice, but she could tell it was bothering him.

She nodded slowly, and for a third time opened her mouth, and sound came out this time, "The letter was forbidding me from associating with you. My, er… father had some issues with your family years ago, and he doesn't want me around you… but…"

Daphne drew a deep breath, her will was almost gone but she knew she had to get through this if she wanted to change the way she saw her life, "Harry, I… I really want to be friends with you, I don't care what my father says, I want to get to know you."

There, she said it. It was out in the air, and it was left to Harry to make the next move.

■ EfS ■

 **BONUS SCENE**

■ EfS ■

A boy stood in the back of the library, in the section on magical plants. He was looking for a book on the properties of Mandrakes for his herbology essay when he heard voices nearby. He peered around the side of the bookshelf that he was next to, and saw Potter with some other students in first year. They were all Slytherin judging by their robes. He recognized Potter because of the unruly hair and scar. He didn't recognize any of the others though, but he heard Potter's response.

He looked at the lone girl, and could see her fear, but there was something else that crossed her eyes when she heard Potter's words in her defence.

The boy had thought about wanting to meet Potter before, if only because it was Harry Potter. Now he wanted to know why Potter was so willing to protect someone that he had only known for a few weeks? He wanted to get to the bottom of that.

He pulled out his wand and silently cast a compulsion charm at the blonde boy who seemed to be the antagonist of that little meeting, and forced him to leave.

However, before the boy could approach the now lone couple doing their homework, the girl quickly packed her things and hurried out, her eyes still holding the fear they previously had.

Not today then, maybe next time. Though, he could also engineer a meeting. He just needed to send a letter to his sister… now which sister would he send that letter to?

Turning back to looking for the book he needed, he decided he would come back deciding how to orchestrate a meet with Potter.


End file.
